The Snow and the Moon
by TeenageTimeTraveler
Summary: The Moon chose another one, and Jack's there to help her.
1. Chapter 1

It was close to Christmas, and the North Pole was buzzing with life. Jack sat on the balcony, his legs dangling over the edge and his staff sat safely beside him, one pale hand resting on top of it. He watched the workers with interest, bright blue eyes following everything they did.

Deciding things were going too smoothly, he picked up his staff and grinned, pointing it at one of the workers who was painting a toy train. Frost zapped across the large empty hall, freezing his large, furry hand to the little toy train. He grunted, and looked up to the balcony, but Jack was already gone, laughing as he went to sit by the fire.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't mess with my workers." North said as he shrugged out of his large, red coat, and hung it up by the fire.

Jack grinned. "Just having a little fun." He joked.

North rolled his eyes, and went to stand in front of the fire with his large hands held out in front of him. He had been out with the reindeer all day, and it was freezing outside - literally.

Jack's eyes wandered as he looked around the workshop, falling on the globe that glowed with a million tiny dots, the high domed ceiling with its golden decorations, and then at the moon peeking through the gap in the ceiling made especially for it.

And then Jack stood. He gripped his staff tightly, and his eyes widened.

"North." He said. "Look."

North turned around, clasping his hands together, and took a few steps to where Jack was stood, his head tilted up and his blue eyes wide as he watched.

"Oh my."

The sky was a dark navy blue, and the moon shone brightly in the darkness, but that wasn't the problem - from the moon were a dozen silvery trails, like something Sand Man would of left, but silver rather than gold. They started out from all parts of the moon, but they twisted and turned and curled, and though Jack couldn't see where they landed, he had a feeling that they all met in the same place.

"I'm going to go check it out." He murmured, looking to North for a second before stirring up the wind with his staff, and flying swiftly out of the work shop.

* * *

_20 MINUTES EARLIER_

Selena ran with the small bundle clutched to her chest. Her idea of a Christmas party hadn't been running across a forest with a new born baby, but she wasn't complaining. Her breath bounced off the trees, and her eyes sought out the light, any light, in the darkness.

The baby's soft murmurs prompted her to slow down, whispering, "It's okay, you're going to be okay, I'll get you home." The baby gurgled, and Selena continued to run.

And then, suddenly, there was a light, breaking through the darkness and hurting her eyes. She ran towards it anyway - she didn't know who it was, but it looked warm, and she had to help the baby.

She hammered on the door, her eyebrows knitting together in frustration when no one answered within the first two seconds. The door opened to a middle-aged woman wearing a thick pink jumper, who frowned at the girl on her doorstep.

"Can you take this baby?" Selena panted. "Please? You don't have to keep him, take him into the city, put him up for adoption, or into a foster home, or whatever, but please, take him."

The woman stared at her for a moment, and then nodded slowly, taking the tiny baby from Selena. It coughed, and the woman looked down at him.

"He has two older sisters." Selena said, still panting. "I'm going to go back and get them now. Can I bring them here?"

The woman nodded again. "Of course. I'll take care of them." She said.

"Thank you." Selena nodded, and turned to run back off into the forest, her white dress flaring out behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

The wind carried him as far as it could take him - he couldn't go to the moon, to follow the beams of silver dust from their source, but he could go fairly far up. He ran his hand through the dust, and it tingled as it hit his skin. Looking down, Jack could no longer see the ground - it as dark, and there were no lights on in wherever this place was.

It was in England, Jack thought, as he swooped further down towards the ground. He wasn't high up enough to see the shape of the island, but he knew which direction he'd came from, and he recognised the chill of the winds and the storms overhead.  
This was England all right.

He followed the moon dust down to its source, and as he got closer and closer, he realised he was heading into a forest. More importantly, he was heading into trees - he tried to stop himself, to have the wind pick him back up just a few feet, but he was too late.

He smashed into a fir tree, hitting every branch on the way day. He groaned as he hit the snow at the bottom, his head spinning as he tried to sit up. He was seeing stars. He shook out his silvery hair, and stood up, clutching the tree trunk for balance.

He looked around for the moon dust, his eyes narrowing as he searched. He had fell a little way from it, and as he walked through the trees to where the silvery dust gathered, he gasped.

There, on the ground, under a dazzling cloak of light and a shower of dust was a girl with long, pale, blonde hair and milk white skin, sprwaled out on the ground. She was beautiful. But then he really saw her.

Her hair was matted and tangled, the skin on her arms and shoulders torn, and the snow around her was crimson with blood. He grit his teeth against the sight, and took a few stumbling steps towards her. He gripped his staff tightly as he crouched down next to her.

He didn't dare go closer than a foot or two to her, in fear of disrupting whatever the dust was doing. Jack looked up at the sky, tilting his head back and muttering to the man in the moon, "What are you doing?"

As he watched, Jack saw the dust coat her arms, seeming to sink under the skin, healing the cuts and bruises and gouges that had ruined her beauty. Her hair turned from blonde to silver, starting at the roots and working its way to the tips of her hair, and where the dust settled on her eyelids, it was absorbed, and though he couldn't see it yet, Jack knew it was doing something.

And then, eventually, the dust settled completely, and soaked into her every pore. The dust stopped coming, and the shine from the moon seemed to lessen slightly. And as Jacked watched, the girl's eyes opened.

* * *

_10 MINUTES EARLIER_

Selena ran back through the forest, following her own footsteps through the snow and the trees, trying to find the cave where she had found the three little children. She had known a party in a forest was a bad idea - usually any idea of her father's was a bad idea anyway. She had got distracted, wandered off, and now she was trying to rescue three children who were probably guests at the party anyway, but still needed help.

She didn't mind giving the help, though. She wanted to help. The poor children looked miserable and hungry, the baby was going blue with cold. It couldn't of been more than a few days old.

The sound of her rapid breathing masked the sound of footsteps, heavy footsteps, coming from behind her. She was running so swiftly she wasn't even bothering to listen to her surroundings, though she really should have been. Because suddenly, in the forest with her, was a wolf. It ran alongside her for a while, just hidden from her vision, and then it pounced.

It knocked her to the ground and winded her, it's teeth snapping at her exposed flesh; her shoulders and her arms especially, as she tried to fend it back.

I'm going to die, she thought. And so are those children.

She tilted her head back, trying to see how far away the cave was from here, wondering if they wolf could get those children too. Maybe it would have had enough when it had finished her off. Refusing to cry, and knwoing she wasn't strong enough to fend off the beast, Selena clamped her eyes and jaw shut, and prayed for death.


	3. Chapter 3

The stars. That was the first thing Selena saw. The stars twinkling brighter than she had ever known them too, more than just pinpricks now; she could see their outline, their shape, she could see everything. And then her eyes found the moon, and she was almost blinded by it's brightness, shining so much brighter than it ever had before. Like the stars, she could see it's very outline, it's shape, every crater and rock, and even the initials left in it by Cernan in recognition of his daughter all those years ago.

She sat up slowly, carefully, and held her arms out in front of her. They seemed to glitter in the moonlight, like there was glitter under her skin, and she was much paler than she was before. She went to stand, then, but her legs were still shaky, and she fell forward, hurtling towards the ground.

But, before she could, she was caught by a pair of cool, pale arms, that gently pushed her back into a sitting position, with her legs crossed and her hands clasped in her lap.

"Take it easy," A cool, soft voice said. "You've been through a lot. I think."

A boy courched down in front of her, with wide blue eyes and pale skin, though not as pale as hers, and white-silver hair that shimmered with every tiny movement he made. She gasped; he was beautiful.

"What's your name?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the right.

"Selena." She murmured quietly.

He nodded. "How old are you, Selena?"

"Sixteen."

He gave a small smile that tugged at the corner's of his mouth; it looked involuntary, and it made her melt. "Me too." He nodded. "Well, sort of."

He grinned at her, and Selena had no choice but to grin back. It was infectious.

"I'm Jack... Jack Frost." He paused before he finished, as if he didn't want to say it.

Selena's eyes narrowed. "As in... THE Jack Frost? The one that nips at your nose and- and-"

Jack nodded. "The one and only." He gave a small grin.

Still frowning, Selena pointed a finger at him, and slowly pressed it into his shoulder. She had to check if he was real or not - she was sure she was going insane. But no, he was really there, stood in front of her. She wasn't going absolutely mental.

And then another though accured to her. "Am I dead?" She asked.

Jack shook his head. "Quite the opposite, if you're anything like us." He raised his head to the moon and frowned rebukingly at it, shaking his head before looking down at Selena.

"You have a family?" He asked, standing up properly and putting one hand in his pocket; the other was clasped around a long  
staff.

"Yes." She replied.

Jack sighed. "Good going." he muttered up to the sky, and then looked down at her again. "It doesn't matter." He said. "They can't see you now. They can't see you if they don't believe in you. And that takes longer than you'd think."

Selena frowned, her eyebrows knitting together, when there was a shout of "Selena!" from a few feet away. Both of their heads turned towards the sound, and Selena murmured, "My father."

Jack pursed his lips, and held his free hand out to her. "I'm sorry." He said. "But there's nothing either of us can do. At least, not right now. Come with me. I can help you. Help you find your centre, who you are, why you're here..." Once again he frowned up at the sky, and looked back down to her with gentle eyes.

Nodding, Selena took his hand. She was less unsteady on her feet than before, but she still felt dizzy every time she stood up. He dress, which she remembered formerly being in tatters, was no mended as if it had never been torn, and it shimmered with the same glitter as her skin. It stretched down to the floor, and splayed around her feet as she walked.

"Hold on tight." Jack instructed her, and she nodded, wrapping her fingers around the icy material of his hoody, feeling the wind lift her off the ground as they flew away from her home, and her family.


	4. Chapter 4

Selena had never been afraid of heights, and though she clung to the boy she had just met like a baby to it's mother, she enjoyed the flight over to the North Pole. She got chillier and chillier the further north she went, and she began to hate herself for wearing a strapless dress in the middle of winter. Then again, she had been going to a Christmas party; still, it was no excuse, and she wasn't exactly sharing body heat with Jack, who seemed colder than the snow itself.

"Can I try something?" She asked, when they were safely over the icy seas of the North.

Jack frowned slightly, but nodded. "Sure."

"Keep hold of my hand." Selena nodded, and slowly, she unfurled her fingers from his frost hoody, took a tight hold of his icy hand, and pushed herself out into the air.

And she was flying. She let go of Jack's hand, gliding through the air, turning and twisting and twirling to her heart's content. She didn't need the wind to carry her like he did - she could bend it to her own will. It felt more like anti-gravity than flying, but whatever it was, Selena was enjoying it.

"Selena!" Jack called from about 30 feet away. "Over here!"

She was slightly breathless as she circled round and rejoined him. Not sure she would be able to keep herself still in the air, she took hold of his cool hand.

"Wow." She gasped, as she took in the sight in front of her.

It was a palace, huge and made of ice, or white bricks, or something like that, something wintery and wonderful. The ceilings were domed and glittered with gold, and there were little balconies dotted around everywhere. It was a palace fit for any king, Selena thought, and it seemed so strange, dotted here in the middle of the North Pole of all places. Immediately she was curious. She unknowingly propelled herself forward a foot or so, though she never let go of Jack's hand.

"What is it?" She asked, tilting her head slightly in wonder.

Jack smirked. "Santa's workshop." He answered. "Come on; North'll be dying to see you."

Selena pursed her lips; she hadn't believed in Santa for a long time. A long, long time. She allowed Jack to pull her forward, however, and she soon found herself flying over the domed roofs of the workshop, and then down through a gap that seemed to be positioned directly under the full moon.

"Jack!" A voice boomed, and it was so loud that, once they had landed, Selena hid hersef slightly behind his willow frame.  
"You're back!"

A huge man, about as wide as he was tall came bounding up the stairs to meet them. He had large, muscular arms, each tattoed with either "naughty" oe "nice" on them. His belly protruded larger than it should have, and he wore a long, red coat trimmed with white fur, and his long hair and beard where white and thick. He spoke with an accent Selena couldn't place - was he Russian? Ukranian? Selena couldn't tell, but the enormous man scared her more than he should have. He wasn't exactly her idea of Santa.

"I wasn't gone that long, was I?" Jack asked jokingly. He seemed completely at ease with whoever this man was. Selena certainly wasn't.

"Long enough for me to wonder." The man grinned. He looked around Jack's arm, peering at Selena with an expectant smile.

Jack started as if he had forgotten her presence at all, and took a step to the side to bring Selena into full view. He pulled her forward, and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "North, there's someone I'd like you to meet." He grinned. "Selena," he looked at her first as he introduced them. "This is North. You might know him as Santa Claus."

"Ho ho ho." North joked sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Selena."

He held out a large, rough hand, and Selena paused before she placed her own hand in his, and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you too." She murmured.

"English?" North asked, looking from Selena to Jack as he released her hand. "So that's where the beams went? To England?"

"Beams? What beams?" Selena asked, but Jack answered North first.

"Yeah. Some little forest in England. She was a bit cut up. Totally cut up, actually. And she used to be blonde." Jack nodded, as if her hair colour was important.

"Wait-" Selena frowned. "Used to be?"

She hadn't thought about her appearance since she had woken up; she was so consumed with the fact that she was alive, and then that she could fly, that her appearance hadn't even occured to her. She wasn't vain to begin with, but now, as Jack mentioned it, she looked around for a mirror.

"Here," North said, picking a hand-held mirror, with frosted decoration that was simply beautiful, but which didn't matter to Selena now. She took the mirror eagerly, and gasped.

Her face held the same glittery complexion as the skin of her arms and her shoulders, but it was subtler now, in the light of the fire rather than the moon. Her hair was like spun silver, so different to the pale blonde it had once been, and it shimmered in the flickering lights of the flames. It was her eyes, however, that completely threw her off guard. They were silver, and her pupils were large with fright. As she looked at her eyes, shining and glittering like a wedding ring, or the ring her mother had given her for her birthday when she was 12, she saw them light up even brighter, and the mirror fell to the floor.

She doubled over in pain, a dazzling pain, almost, in her head, that caused her to lose her balance and that strangely knocked the wind out of her. She cried out, and felt several arms grab her. She felt like she couldn't breath, and she couldn't see either, and then there was a voice telling her something, a voice she knew only she could hear, and she stopped gasping and crying.

"My name is Selena Celestia," She said. She was still blind, able to see nothing but white light, but she was sure and unwavering as she continued, "I am the man in the moon's own ambassador on Earth, sent to deliver his messages to his people. I am the finder and collector of wishes, and the fulfiller of them. I am Selena-"

And the brightness was lost from her eyes; they returned to a duller silver colour, and she was able to see again. She gasped, taking in a huge gust of air, as the pain cleared and she could breathe again. She looked up to find Jack and North looking at her with eyes full of worry and concern. They looked at each other, and then back down at her.

"What just happened?" She asked, lookign from Jack to North and back again.

Jack pursed his lips, and then answered, "I'm not entirely sure."


	5. Chapter 5

"We need to gather everyone round," North said, leaving Jack to help Selena to her feet, putting her arm over his shoulder to hold her up. "They need to know about this!"

"How do you plan on getting hold of them?" Jack asked doubtfully. Selena was barely listening; she clutched at her stomach, and took slow, deep breaths.

"Same way I did the last time." North shrugged, as if it was obvious. "I'll send out the lights."

Both Jack and Selena frowned now, and watched as four ribbons of bluey-green light were sent out into the dark night sky, shimmering and glowing against the pitch black of the sky.

"The Northern lights." Selena gasped. "I thought that was all to do with gases and reactions and-"

"Pfft." North shrugged her off, inerrupting her mid sentence. "You people and your science! Never satisfied with magic - you were always looking for an explanation."

Selena blushed, her cheeks turning pink and glittering as she smiled sheepishly. Jack tried not to laugh outright at how rebuked she looked.

"Sit her down, before she falls down." North nodded, and Selena frowned. "I'_m fine_" she thought, but she didn't say it, and instead allowed Jack to drag her to a chair by the fire.

"How long will it take for them to get here?" Jack asked, leaning against the side of the chair. Selena shut her eyes tight. Her head hurt. Her stomach hurt. Her back hurt. But worst of all, her heart hurt. She ached to go home - but she could see now hope impossible that was.

"Minutes." North shrugged, letting a yeti lead him off downstairs.

"Jack," Selena said in a whisper, with her eyes still firmly closed. "I don't want to."

With sympathetic eyes, Jack said, "Don't worry- the others aren't so bad." He tried to reassure her.

Selena sighed. He didn't get it. She wasn't scared of meeting them - she was just tired. She just wanted to lie down, go to sleep. She couldn't handle all of this at once. And not just meeting the "others", whoever they were; in the space of an hour or so, she had saved a new born baby, been attacked by a wolf, been saved by the Man in the Moon and had contact with him and learned that she could fly, and that all of the fairytales she had believed in as a child were actually real. It was too much for her. She needed to rest.

But just as she was about to ask if maybe she could lie down, there was a humming sound from high above them. She looked up to see a throng of tiny hummingbirds flutter though the gap in the ceiling, followed by a small, feathery woman. Selena blinked. Surely that wasn't- it couldn't be-

"Is that the Tooth Fairy?" She asked Jack in a whisper.

Jack smiled and nodded. "Toothiana." He informed her.

"Toothiana." Selena murmured to herself, trying to commit it to memory.

The small group landed near North, and the two exchanged pleasantries and a few hugs, when there ground in the middle of the balcony where Selena was sat began to shake, and cave in on itself. She stared, with wide eyes, as the ground gave way to what looked like a tunnel.

And out from the tunnel clambered a six foot rabbit.

"I really don't want to." She whispered to Jack.

"Me neither." Jack gave rolled his eyes at her, and looked back at the rabbit with a scowl.

"Nice to see you, Frosty." The bunny said. His accent was pure Australian. Selena lightened a bit at the sound - she liked that accent. "Who's the Sheila?"

"Wait and see." Jack replied, nodding to North and Toothiana, who were just climbing the last stair to the balcony.

"Is this everyone?" Selena asked, looking up at Jack.

He shook his head. "We're just waiting on-"

He was cut off by the appearance of a small figure, floating up the steps to the balcony. He was so small, and completely gold, with gold dust swirling in a cloud around him. Selena smiled; she knew exactly who he was.

"The Sandman." Selena finished for him. The entire party turned to look at her, and she suddenly wished she hadn't spoken at all. She sunk into her chair, feeling the blood rise to her cheeks.

"Ladies and gentlemen," North began, each pair of eyes still trained on Selena. "The moon has chosen another one."


	6. Chapter 6

The silence that followed his sentence was deafening and Selena was nearly crushed beneath it; and then the bubble exploded, and everyone become so animated that she was more scared than she had been before. The fairy rushed forward, followed by a few of helpers, gasping and squealing and trying to see the girls' teeth; the Sandman sent up a cloud of gold glitter in delight, clapping his hands together, and the bunny started raving about "not another one" and "probably a moon spirit". Jack kept quiet, giving her a slightly reassuring smile when Selena looked up at him, but he did nothing to stop them.

"Who are you?"

"Where did she come from?"

"Why did he choose _her_?"

"Does she have any powers?"

"What's her center?"

"She has so much to learn!"

"Who's going to teach her?"

"No one's going to teach me!" Selena leaped up from her seat, finding herself steady on her feet as she faced the crowed with a frown. "I'm going home." She said defiantly. "I won't learn anything, I don't know what a center is, I don't have any powers and I don't know why he chose me!"

She stormed off, her white dress fluttering out behind her as she walked, dragging out her figure but managing not to get in her way as she fled from the balcony. She held her head up high, though she could feel her bottom lip trembling, and walked until the corridor ended.

The was a balcony at the end of the corridor, and the frosted glass doors that led to it were cold under her touch. She really wished he had of brought a coat with her, or had of had a coat on her, because when the cold air hit her she could of sworn she was about to freeze. It hardly mattered to her, though. She folded her arms on the stone of the balcony railing, and stared out at the baron white wasteland around the grotto.

Tears welled in her silvery eyes, and she fought to keep them back. She would be damned if she cried. It wasn't so much sadness, but anger - these people had dragged her here, and were demanding so much of her when she barely knew herself. And she still had a splitting headache to top it all off.

"Why me?" She asked the moon. It was starting to get lighter outside, closer to daylight than darkness, and the moon was looking paler and paler in the night sky. "Why didn't you just let me die, why me?"

"You saved a kid?"

"What?" Selena turned to see Jack stood in the doorway, his hand clasped around his staff.

"You saved a kid?" He repeated, slower this time. Selena could tell whether it was a question or a statement.

She nodded. "A baby." She said. "New born, I think, but I'm not a mid wife." She gave a half-hearted smile. "I never got back to the rest." She sighed.

Jack shook his head, taking a few steps forward to stand next to her, looking out at the frozen scenery. Selena followed him with wide silver eyes, following his gaze out to the misshapen landscape too. "He'll have took care of it." He said, looking up at the fast-disappearing moon. "He usually does."

Selena looked down at her hands; in the daylight, the glitter was almost invisible, but she could still see it. The silence that fell beneath them wasn't uncomfortable. It was nice, to Selena. She liked hearing the whistle of the wind and the tinkering of the workshop that sounded so far away, but in reality was so close.

"I don't want to go back in there, Jack." She said, breaking the silence and turning to look at the boy.

"We could stay out here for a little while," He said, turning to look at her, his bright blue eyes catching her glittering silver ones. "But you have to face them eventually."

Selena sighed. _Rather soon than later_, she thought. "Hold my hand?" She asked Jack.

"Of course." He nodded, soberly taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. His skin was cool, but not cold, and it felt soothing to her. "Now come on," He said, beginning to grin. "Let's go have a little fun."


	7. Chapter 7

With Jack by her side, Selena felt slightly more confident than she had before. It took a deep breath and a reassuring nod from him to get her back into the room, and when she did she realised how much of an impact her little outburst had made. North sat in the very chair she had been sat in just a few moments ago with the rabbit by his side, chatting quietly about something or other; Toothiana sat on the floor, tickling the fairies that zipped around her, and giving instructions at the same time; and the Sandman had fell asleep in the corner of the room, hovering a few inches from the floor and looking strangely peaceful.

When she entered, everyone turned to stare, even a few of the yetis working below them. Her resolve wavered slightly, then, and she considered fleeing again, but she carried on regardles; partly because Jack was pulling her forward.

"I'm sorry about before." She said calmly. "I'm just feeling a bit...overwhelmed."

A few of the Guardians nodded understandingly; Jack squeezed her hand.

"I'll try to answer any questions you have. He might even give us some help." She looked up at the moon with a knowing grin. Jack smirked, and North laughed outright.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, girly!" He boomed, getting up to clap her on the back. "Tooth and Bunny have many questions for you. I'm sure you like to hear, yes?"

"Of course." She nodded, though she wasn't entirely sure she did. "I'll try my very best."

"Very good," North smiled. "Fire away!"

Tooth and Bunny looked at each other, and in their silence, Selena moved to sit on the floor with her back to the flickering fire. Her long dress pooled out around her, covering her legs and her feet, and making her feel quite elegant. Jack sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around his knees.

They didn't question her too hard - the Guardians felt like they were walking on eggshells, and so they asked simple, easy questions, explaining certain things as they went and trying to be good humored, to keep Selena happy. It was early morning by the time they ran out of questions, and Selena was half-falling asleep. She hadn't slept in a long time, and she wasn't used to staying up late.

"Maybe it's time for bed, eh Sandy?" Bunny said, looking from Selena, who gave a yawn, and the small golden man in the corner, who was beaming happily. He formed a little pile of gold dust in his hand, and blew it towards her. It traveled slowly, and when it hit Selena, she sneezed. And then her eyes drooped shut, and she slumped onto Jack's shoulder, the gold dust forming a tiny baby over her head, giggling and waving it's arms.

"I'll take her." Jack offered, picking her up and cradling her in his arms; she was heavier than expected, but he didn't let on.

"Second room on the right." North instructed, pointing to the doors on the left. "Pleasant dreams, Sandy." He looked pointedly at the Sandman, who chuckled silently.

Jack shifted her slightly in her arms, and carried her out into the second room on the right; it was a big room, with a roaring fire and red satin sheets and a sheep-skin cover at the bottom. It looked warm and inviting, but it wasn't for Jack. He tried to hold her in one arm, and managed to pull the covers back before he dropped her onto the soft, warm mattress. He pulled the covers back over her, making sure she was well covered.

He paused for a moment, making sure she was all right. He turned to leave, but as he did, he couldn't help noticing that the gold-dust baby morphed into a snowflake.


	8. Chapter 8

The next few days were quiet in comparison to that day, and Selena started to settle into life in the North. She wasn't sure where she was going to live from now on. She could go home, though no one would see her, but she still had a lot to learn, and she still had a lot to get through. She couldn't communicate with the moon without having to go to bed for a few hours afterwards, she smashed a window last time she tried to fly, and she was still getting the hang of this "collecting and answering" wishes.

"How am I meant to answer wishes?" She asked. "I can feel them - I can feel people wishing, all of the time. There's a little boy in Scotland, Aberdeenshire, just asked for a red bike for Christmas. You can sort that one out!" She pointed an accusing finger at North, who scribbled it down. "And 7 children, 7 children just that second have wished for their parents to get back together - one in Indonesia, one in Peru, one in Germany, Egypt, Ontario, Ireland, Greece-"

Her eyes glowed a bright silver, and she clutched at the air, balling her hands up into fists and yelping softly. Silence fell, and after a few moments, her eyes returned to their usual liquid silver, and she glared up at the moon, peeking through the gap in the roof. "Don't tell me not to get angry." She muttered. "You put me here, you sort it."

Jack looked at North, and Bunny at Tooth, and the Sandman looked at Selena sympathetically. She threw herself down in the chair by the fireplace.

"How am I meant to do any of these things!" She cried. "I'm a- a moon spirit," It sounded weird to her to say it, and she faltered slightly before continuing, "Not a miracle worker!"

"But that's just the thing," Toothiana smiled, fluttering towards her and kneeling down in front of her seat. "You are. We all are." She looked around at the Guardians, of which Selena still wasn't a member, and smiled. "My fairies and I can zip round the world in one night, collecting thousands of teeth and leaving thousands of coins. Sandy can send dreams, happy, magical dreams that make a child feel all right when they're not at their best. North can get to every child in one night, delivering millions and millions of toys, and not leaving a single one out. Bunny - he paints million os eggs and hides them in places all around the world for one day! One day! And Jack - he can control the weather, and the seasons!" Tooth was grinning, as she finished, "We are all miracle workers. It just takes time to perfect."

Standing up, and placing her hands on Selena's with a warm smile, Toothiana flew back to her place next to Sandy.

It was silent except for the crackling of the fire, while Selena thought over what Tooth had just said to her. Her eyes fixed on the globe as she thought - thousands of tiny lights, millions, even, all flickering and twinkling in the bright light of the workshop, managing to shine above the fairy lights and the wonders that North had created.

And then she stood, her white dress tumbling down to the floor, having been tucked under her knees when she had sat down. Everyone was already looking at her, but he eyes were fixed on the globe as she said, "I want to try."

Jack raised an eyebrow at her.

"I want to try it - I want to grant a wish." She said with a nod. "Or at least collect one." She added on at the end, just in case.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Jack asked, leaning against his staff slightly with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll get a jar." She said. It seemed obvious to her, when she thought about it. How many movies had she seen with little lights in jars, glowing and twinkling and floating about - wishes? With little silvery fairies sat on their lids, laughing and making sure their wish was safe. She thought, maybe, that wishing would be like Sandy's dreams - she would be able to see it above their heads, except instead of putting it there, she would be taking it. She could label them, and keep them, and then come back to the wishes when she knew she could answer them.

"A jar?" Jack asked doubtfully.

"Yes." She replied curtly.

He nodded, looking at her like she was mad, but Tooth smiled. "That's a great idea!" She said. "Do you know where to get one from?"

Selena nodded. "I know just the place."

It was dark when they reached England. Selena's first port of call wasn't the location of the jar, although Jack didn't want to make too many stops. Tooth was happy to allow her to swoop low over the trees of the forest, so close to the grand house that she had been forced to spend so much of her time in, and land with a thud, on her back, in front of the tiny little cottage.

"You okay?" Toothiana asked, peering over her with her pink wings fluttering madly.

"Fine." Selena nodded with a huff. She stood up, shook herself off, and noted how she was completely free of grass stains.

The lights were on in the tiny cottage, and even from outside they could hear the sound of squealing, happy, excited squealing and gurgling, and the clapping of hands.

Selena walked fluidly up to the window, and cupped her hands against the glass, peering inside. It was only two nights till Christmas, and the first thing Selena noticed was the tree, brightly decorated and glimmering in the bright light. And then she saw the little tray of cookies, seemingly freshly made, and a little girl chomping on them seemed happy enough. And then an older girl came over, her sister, obviously, as they shared the same thick brown hair and bright brown eyes. She pushed her younger sibling out of the way, sending the other girl off in tears, when their mother came over. She swatted them away, picked up a cookie for herself, and sat down in an arm chair with a new born baby cradled in her arms. Her husband came over, neither of them sharing any resemblance to the children, and kissed her tenderly, kissing the baby on the forehead and going to sit on the floor with the two older children.

"They're okay." Selena whispered, smiling slightly.

Jack was beside her, frosting up the glass as he peered inside. "Are these the children you saved?" He asked.

"The baby is." I answered. "He must of took care of the girls." She looked up approvingly at the moon. "As you said he would."  
She added.

But Jack didn't smile, or say I told you so; he stared intently through the window at the children, frowning and looking confused.

"What's wrong?" Tooth asked, hovering behind them both, looking over their heads at the happy family.

"She- They-" Jack frowned again, and then continued, "They look a lot like my little sister."

Selena frowned as well, then, and turned to look at Jack. "Your sister?" She asked.

"I had a little sister." He said. "She looked just like that little girl right there." He pointed to the eldest. "She looks a little less like her." he commented, pointing to the younger sister.

"She looks a lot like you." Selena said, looking from the middle child to Jack. "If you had brown hair."

"I used to." Jack muttered, still looking intently at the children.

"It's been 300 years Jack," Tooth said from behind them, but he didn't turn to look. She set a hand down on his shoulder. "They won't be related."

"But they could be." He said, turning to look at her.

"I suppose..." Toothiana siad, but her tone told him that it was doubtful.

Jack pursed his lips, still staring through the window. Selena looked at Toothiana, who jerked her head towards the forest behind them; Selena nodded, and turned to Jack.

Setting a hand on his frosty shoulder, she said, "Come on, Jack. They're safe. It's okay."

It took a moment before he turned to face them, and took a deep breath. "Let's go. Jars to find, wishes to catch, right?" He said, with a playful grin, so different to his previous mood.

"Right." Selena agreed. "That way." She pointed to the big house and the town behind it, and took Jack's hand to steady herself a she flew toward it.


	9. Chapter 9

"I used to sneak out this way every Friday night," Selena reminisced as she climbed into the house through the cellar window. It was a tight squeeze, but she always managed to get inside, and outside, for that matter. It felt like an eternity since she had wriggled through the gap that she knew to keep clean because she left through it so much, when in reality it had only been a week or so since the last time she had used it.

It was dark inside the cellar, and it took a lot of fumbling for Selena to find the light, though her skin alone was providing quite a bright glow. It was still dark even with the light one, what with it being an energy-saving bulb, but Selena knew exactly where to look.

"So," Jack began, peering around the little, cluttered space. "Jars?"

"Right here." Selena smiled, pulling back a white sheet and revealing 30 or 40 little glass jars with hinged lids, coated in dust and sitting in the cellar to rot, presumably. "My Mum decided to do jam making once," Selena said with a small smile. "She made one jar, burnt the sugar, couldn't get it to jell, and put all the jars down here. I don't think she even knows they're here anymore." She laughed.

"So it's okay if we take them?" Tooth asked nervously.

"Well technically, they're my property." Selena said surely, and then grinned. "Got the bags?"

Jack pulled the brown bags that North had given them out of his pocket, and handed one to Selena, and one to Tooth, asking cautiously, "Are you sure you can handle it, Tooth? They're going to be heavy."

"I can manage!" Tooth huffed, holding out the bag as Selena stuffed a few jars in it. As she did, Selena made a mental note to give Tooth the least amount of jars she could without it seeming suspicious.

The bags were filled quickly and made a horrible tinkling noise when they were lifted and threw over people's shoulders, and Selena hoped it wouldn't wake any of the children, though they probably wouldn't see her even if they did wake up.

"Where are we starting, then?" Jack asked, once the bags had been thrown out onto the street and the fairies and spirits had been pulled out too.

"Not local." Selena said. "It's going to be 11 o'clock in a Sydney in a few minutes. If we can get over there quickly, we can make the 11:11 wishes, and help a few people out."

"Sydney." Jack echoed. "Australia?"

Selena nodded.

Jack looked at Tooth, and they both nodded. "I think we can make it." She said.

* * *

They were flying over Australia in a matter of minutes. They probably wouldn't have made it if Jack hadn't of instructed Selena to "just hold on tight" and let the wind carry her. She would be no use flying all that distance, so it was better for Jack to just carry her over there.

They stopped in a small-ish town, a place called Mona-Vale. It was already 11:09 am when they landed on the busy, bustling street. Tooth had had to stay behind, hiding higher up in the clouds to avoid being seen, seeing as she was more believed in than Jack and Selena put together. Selena looked behind her, and took hold of Jack's hand. "This way." She said, nodding towards the housing behind them.

They flew a small way into a cul-de-sac, where there were children playing in the street, kicking around footballs or holding out barbies on the lawn, squealing and laughing as they had fun in the sunshine.

"Hm." Jack murmured from a small way behind Selena.

"What is it?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"Snow just melts. Straight away." He frowned at the puddle in his hand and Selena rolled her eyes.

"Focus." She said firmly, looking him straight in his bright blue eyes as she said, "It's 11:11 in 1 minute, and we're going to have to be quick. Do try to keep up." She grinned.

Jack didn't have a watch, but he knew when it was 11:11 because, suddenly, Selena wasn't there anymore. She was in a yellow-painted house, at the window facing the street, catching a small orb of silvery light, guiding it into the jar with a smile. And then she was gone again, and he saw her in the house beside that; and then a few doors down, coaxing the little silver lights into the jars as if they were birds. She was a blur of silvery light, and when the minute was up he knew it, as she came sauntering down the street towards him, the bag slung over her shoulder and a smirk on her lips.

"I thought I told you to keep up." She grinned, as she sat down cross-legged in the middle of the quiet the road.

Folding himself down beside her, Jack nodded. "You did. Gotta say, I had a hard time keeping up."

"You didn't even move." She grinned, taking out one of the jars and turning it over in her hand. She smiled at it, and laughed a little, but Jack kept silent.

"So do you get it now?" He asked, after a momentary silence.

Selena nodded happily. "I get it. It's..." She sighed contentedly. "It's fun." She said. "It's easy. Or at least, catching them is. I think answering them's going to be a lot harder."

Jack shrugged then too. "As long as you can catch them, you can answer them eventually, right?"

"Right." She nodded in agreement, after a moment of thought.

Jack paused for a moment too, to listen to the buzzing of wings above their heads. Tooth was watching, probably aching to join them, but he had no real idea where she was, except for up. He looked at Selena, and asked, "So how do you do it? I mean, Tooth has all night to go and collect teeth, but wishes... they're over in a second, aren't they?"

Selena shook her head with a knowing smile. "A wish has to be formed," She said, as if she was already an expert. "They start out tiny. Tiny little lights. And then they grow into this," She held up the jar, showing him the glittering silver orb just smaller than his fist. "This is a fully formed wish. I'm guessing you can only take them when they're like this, or they'll never become fully formed and won't be a wish."

Selena stared at it intently, with a small smile, and Jack asked, "Do you not need to label it?"

She shook her head, and held up the jar in her hand once again. "Violet, aged 11, wishes that her dog'll get better. He's poorly."

"Oh." Jack murmured.

Selena gave a soft smile. "I'll figure out how to answer them when we get back." She said, getting to her feet and motioning to Tooth. "I have 13 wishes in here. Let's go."


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: I hope all of you guys have had a very merry christmas, and just in case I forget, I hope you all have a wonderful new year! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback and reviews, and I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! I'm sorry for this chapter, it's going to be a bit boring and descriptive, but it'll be better later on when I don't have to describe too much!_

* * *

"You were amazing!" Tooth grinned as they flew back over snow-capped countries to the North Pole.

"Thanks." Selena grinned, clutching the bag of wishes as if they were her life. Which, in a way, they were. Or at least, they were now. Her other hand was curled around Jack's hoody, as he and Tooth still refused to allow her to fly home herself. She had to admit, though, she was exhausted, and she was glad of the rest.

Selena was sad that Tooth had had to miss her first ever wish-hunt, but she was finding that she was bonding with the fairy in an entirely new way: unlike North and Bunnymund, she would be working all day, every day, never ceasing or slowing, and never taking a holiday. She wondered if she too would get her own little palace, with her own little army of fairies. She still had no idea how that had came about for the fairy, but she hoped the same would happen to her. Unless it was horrible, of course. Selena decided she'd had enough of horrible things, and was starting to become happy with her life as it was.

When they landed back at the workshop, North, Bunny and Sandy were waiting with smug smiles and folded arms. Selena smiled at them, and went to step behind them to reach her chair, but North held out a big, tattooed arm, and she stumbled back.

"Don't get comfortable." He instructed her. "We have new home for you to go to."

"A- a new home?" Selena stammered.

Sandy nodded happily, a small palace of golden sand floating above his head.

"Where?" She asked, blinking rapidly.

"Middle o' the North Pacific Ocean." Bunny answered. "Right between Greenland and Britain."

"But- but won't people see it?" She shook her head slightly.

"Not unless you believe." North said. "Come, we'll go there in the sleigh."

"I'm in for a ride in the sleigh." Jack grinned, strolling forward to stand next to North.

"I'll follow overhead." Tooth said, seemingly anxious.

"And I'll take the tunnels." Bunny nodded, looking at Tooth with a nervous expression.

North simply shook his head. "Don't be silly, Bunny. Tooth, fine. But Bunny - get in the sleigh. Come on."

It was a short walk to the sleigh, down the elevator and out into the outer building. Selena had learned, by now, not to expect things from stories or legends; she had already misjudged a lot of her new-found friends because of children's fables. So she went into the "garage" with a mind clear of any expectations.

But she was still shocked at what she saw.

The reindeer looked rabid for a start, but she couldn't help stretching out a glittering hand to stroke along the soft fur of one's neck, calming the beast almost instantly. The sleigh, which she assumed wouldn't have any seats, was set up like bleachers in American school, almost, built for any number of people. She clambered in with North's help, and wedged herself against the side. Sandy sat down calmly beside her, and Jack perched himself at the back, on the edge. Bunny hopped in next to Sandy, and between the three of them it was a tight squeeze, but Selena felt better for it. She may not have liked heights, but she had never been a fan of rollercoasters.

Selena looked doubtfully behind her at Jack - it didn't feel so safe.

"Maybe I could fly with Tooth." She said anxiously.

Jack shook his head, giving her a lop-sided smile. "It's fine, honestly. Bunny's just a wuss." He added under his breath.

"Everybody ready?" North asked from his seat at the front. Selena couldn't say she was, but she turned around and nodded anyways. "Hold tight!" North grinned.

Bunny groaned, and Selena clasped her hands in her lap. Once again she had expectations: she was expecting a simple runway, like for planes, to lift them off into the air.

She was horribly wrong.

While Sandy and Jack loved it, Selena and Bunny gripped the underneath of the seats, though she refused to scream. She tried to lok as serene as she could, with her legs locked around the precious jars of wishes as they looped and skidded through a tunnel of ice, before shooting out into the wintery air.

"I hate you." Selena hissed, turning round to glare at Jack before pulling her bundle of jars onto her lap, hugging them as if they were a child. Eyes wide with fear, she tried to ignore Jack's laughter and whooping.

It wasn't so bad once they were out of the tunnel - the deer flew steady, and it almost felt like being on an open-topped bus, or something of the like. It was actually quite peaceful, once it stabilised itself, and Tooth zipped down to her side of the sleigh to talk to her while they flew.

Since the North Pole wasn't very far from Greenland, it wasn't long until they landed. It was a large stretch of deep blue ocean between the islands, but Selena was the first to spot the speck of green in the freezing blue waters.

"There it is!" She grinned, her eyes wide with the excitement that replaced the fear.

They started to drop, but Selena wasn't scared. She was buzzing with excitement, and Tooth came to sit beside Jack in the sleigh, her hands clasped in her lap. Selena wondered where the sleigh would land, because the entire island seemed to be devoted to the shining silver castle, that glittered in the sunlight just like the skin of it's owner. But then Selena noticed the rather large green garden, and the wide pathway that ran around it, like a runway. The sleigh slowly dropped, and skidded along the runway with alarming rate, and for a moment Selena thought they were just going to drop off the edge. But then they stopped, and one half of the party stopped to take a moment to breath before climbing out of the sleigh.

"Who's taking me on a tour then?" Selena asked, with her hands on her hips. She stared up at the palace, or what she could see of it over the tall green hedge separating the runway and the garden.

"We all will," North shrugged. "We all helped."

"I'm showing her the living room!" Tooth beamed. "I decorated the livng room."

"Well, I'll show her the dining room, then." Bunny nodded, climbing shakily out of the sleigh.

"I'll show her the bedroom." Jack nodded, leaning againast his staff slightly.

"Yeah, you wish." Bunny muttered as he walked past him towards the tall, silver-painted gaint leading inside the garden.

Selena felt the blood rise to her cheeks as North chuckled, Sandy laughed silently, and Jack glared after Bunny with venom in his eyes.

"Come on," North said, placing a large hand on Selena's back and pushing her gently towards the gate. "Inside."


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Another really descriptive chapter... sorry! Action coming soon, I swear!_

* * *

The gardens were absolutely beautiful: high green hedges and cut green lawns, white white marble fountains and wooden benches placed all around for the best view of the garden. There was even a small pond in one part, with little silvery fish swimming around.

The house itself was even more beautiful. Tooth showed her the living room, which was furnished with white sofas and armchairs, a silvery rug on the stone floor and a huge, roaring fireplace. The windows were long, with silvery curtains that fell straight to the floor, but they were pulled wide open now and showed a brilliant view of the sea.

Bunny showed her the dining room, with it's long mahogany table and silver cushioned chairs, made for parties, obviously. There was a glass cabinet along one wall, that was seemingly empty, except for the few painted eggs inside that caused Selena to smile slightly, much to Bunny's delight. The other wall faced out onto the sea, again, that could be seen glittering through the three long windows. The two empty walls seemed bare, but Selena noticed the long silver poles, like curtain rods, along the top of the walls, above the roaring fire place.

"Wait until your birthday." Bunny nodded knowingly, with a giggle from Tooth, as Sandy nudged her up the stairs and to the left, and into the door straight in front of them. There were two doors to the left of the stairs (at the top of which was two long windows, and a little table in the middle with a beautiful painting of the Guardians in battle) and four to the right.

The room they went in had shelves full of books on one wall, and a large oak desk near on the one adjacent to it, and a fireplace opposite that wall. The other wall had two more of the long, narrow windows, but the curtains were drawn, and though Sandy didn't tell her, she knew this was her study. There was paper on the desk, and a little ink pot and pen that looked so Victorian she nearly wept with joy.

She was led over to the right side of the stairs, and informed that the three other rooms were guest rooms, and though they seemed tiny, as the doors were quite close together, but she was assured that they were actually quite large on the inside. The last room, parallel to the study, was her room, and Jack covered her eyes with his cold, pale hands to make it a surprise when she opened her eyes.

He led her into the middle of the room, spun her round slightly, and then took his hands away from her eyes.

"Oh my god." She murmured.

It was beautiful, more beautiful than any of the other rooms. The four poster bed was pushed against the wall adjacent to the door, opposite the french doors that led to a white-marble balcony, towering over the gardens and facing out to the brilliant blue sea. The bed itself was beautiful, made of a deep brown wood, mahogany, probably, with white chiffon curtains that were tied back with large silver ropes. The bed was furnished with a fluffy-looking cover, and silver silk sheets to match. It looked so comfortable that Selena wanted to lie down on it straight away.

"Keep looking." Jack prompted.

To the left of the bed was a door that slightly ajar, which she could see led to a bathroom. Against one wall there was a huge wardrobe, and Selena wondered what it could possibly have in it. There was a little dressing table on the opposite wall with a alrge circular mirror, and a few things like perfume and a hairbrush on top. But there was something more that caught her eye.

There were silver picture frames, four silver frames on the top of the dressing table. One was of the Guardians, taken who-knows-when, all grinning and enjoying themselves. Another was of her mother and her father, when they were all on holiday the year before, sat on the beach under a bright red parasol. The other was of her younger and older sister with their baby brother, when he was just a few days old. And the last picture, finally, was a family portrait, taken by the professional photographer their father had hired when he wanted a photograph to go over the fireplace; she was about 14 at the time, her older sister 16, her younger sister 12, and her younger brother just 1 year old. It was her favourite photograph, and Selena felt the tears well up behind her eyes.

"Thank you." She said, her voice breaking as she set the photo back down.

Jack wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a well-needed hug. She realised at that moment how much she missed her family, but how they would probably never see her again. She knew she was being silly, though, crying when she should be happy, so she gave Jack a watery smile and stood back from his cold embrace.

"Thank you, everyone, so much." She smiled, wiping the tears from her face. "I know you all have places to be, though, so if you want to go, feel free, honestly."

"Nonsense," North shook his head. "We're not finished! One more room to see."

Selena frowned. She couldn't think of another room there could be, but she let North lead her along, out of the room and to the left of the stair case, into the second door that she had previously been led past.

"Where is the bag of wishes?" North asked, his hand on the glass door-knob.

"Here!" Tooth said, having pulled it up the stairs herself, wincing every time two jars clinked together.

Selena took it from her with a frown, and looked up at North. "Why do I need these?" She asked. She was planning on putting them in the dining room, but it was obvious North had another plan.

"You want to put them away safely, don't you?" North asked.

"Yes..." Selena frowned.

"Well here is safe!" North said, pulling back the door and letting Selena go in first.

It was a circular room, the tower she saw on the side of the palace, obviously, and it was filled with shelves - hundreds and hundreds of shelves, ringing the walls. There were several little balconies like this, 6 or so feet apart, and ladders, like the ones you found in old-fashioned libraries, connected each one and allowed her to reach the higher shelves.

"Wow." Selena murmured, clutching the bag close to her chest.

"Let's go down to the bottom." Bunny said. "You can put those jars away and see North's moving in present."

North grinned, slapping Bunny on the back and nearly winding him. Selena couldn't see any way to get down but the stairs, and that would take a while. Bunny was gone in a flash, however, down all the stairs so quickly that he was the first on the floor. Then Tooth and Sandy went down second, simply flying down the center, and North was daring enough to just jump, landing unscathed at the bottom with a loud laugh.

"I'm not doing that." Selena looked at Jack.

Jack laughed, shaking his head. "Didn't think you would." He said. "Hold on tight."

Selena wrapped her arms arouns his waist, holding the bag behind his back, which was easier than clinging to his hoody like a baby chimp. He paused, and Selena wondered if she should of stuck to her usual position, but then he threw himself over the edge and let the wind catch them both, letting them down onto the ground gently.

"Thanks." Selena smiled, stepping away from Jack immediately as Bunny nudged North and smirked. Jack glared at him again, and Selena pulled one of the jars out of the bag.

"There you go little one." She smiled, putting it down gently on the shelf. She was just about to pull another out of the bag when there was a shot of silver light, zipping past her and settling itself on the top of the jar.

Jack frowned after it. "What the-"

"Oh my god." Selena murmured, kneeling down so that she was at eye-level with the jay, and the tiny fairy sat on top.

She was about the height of the jar itself, and she was completely silver except for the skin on her face. She had bright silver eyes, and she left a trail of silver dust as she flew around, her tiny wings fluttering quickly.

"Hi there." She smiled. The fairy smiled back.

"Oh!" Tooth smiled, dropping down beside her and peering at the fairy with a curious smile. "It must be like my teeth!" She said.

"Your teeth?" Selena asked.

Toothiana nodded. "Every tooth means another fairy - the fairies are born of the teeth, like the living embodiment." She smiled, looking happily at the little fairy. "There must be more in the bag!"

She was right - there was a fairy for every jar, and they sat around chattering excitedly, sitting on top or infront of the their jars and dancing around Selena herself. Their voices weren't really voices at all, but they were tiny squeaks or giggles, that Selena realised only she could understand.

North looked at the watch on his arm, and sighed. "I must be going." He said, taking a step towards Selena and scaring off the fairies that were hovering around her. "Christmas Eve tomorrow."

"Of course." Selena nodded, and stepped forward to give North a hug, taking him completely off guard. "Thank you." She said.

North blushed, and Bunny stepped forward then, too. "I better be going as well." He said, his eyes following the fairies as they hid behind their mistress. "Can't leave the Warren for too long."

With a hug from him, Selena turned to Toothiana. "And you have to go too, right?" She asked, hugging Tooth and thanking her.

The fairy nodded. "Busy busy busy." She said sheepishly, and flew over to North's side.

"Sandy?" Selena asked, but he shook his head, gesturing to a golden-sand moon over his head. "Right." Selena nodded, hugging the little man as he had the others, and standing up.

"And you?" She asked, looking at Jack.

"I can stay for a little while." He shrugged, giving a lopsided smile to three of the fairies that had come over to inspect him, tugging at strands of his hair and flying in front of his face.

"Figures." Bunny muttered. North nudged him in the ribs.

"Excellent." Selena smiled, ignoring the rabbit. "Want me to see you out?"

North shook his head. "We know the way."

Selena nodded. "Visit any time you like!" She called after them.

"We will." Bunny nodded with a smile, and the four of them left through the door leading to the dining room.

There was silence between the two for a moment, until Jack said, "North was going to get you a globe, but..."

"I don't have any believers." Selena smiled wistfully.

"Yeah..." Jack nodded, wishing he hadn't said anything from the smile on her face, that was sad but strangely peaceful.

After another small silence, Selena said, "Come on. Let's go to the study and see what I can do for these kids."

Jack nodded, and went for the door, but Selena shook her head.

"Quicker to fly, isn't it?" She asked.

He nodded, stepping hesitantly back towards her. She wrapped her arms around his waist again, giving him a smile which he couldn't return. She tried not to let it get to her, but she couldn't help wondering, as they shot up to the second floor of the palace, what she'd done to upset him.


	12. Chapter 12

Christmas came and went, and January along with it, and by the time February had approached, two months or so after she was changed, Selena was already becoming a Guardian in her own right. It had took less time than she'd thought to get believers, once she had started granting the wishes she was keeping (and with a little help from the other Guardians), though she still didn't have a call from the Man in the Moon to take up the position the others thought she deserved.

"Maybe there's enough of you lot already." Selena shrugged over dinner one night, when the Guardians came to visit. "And you did such a good job last time, why add another when there's no immediate danger?"

Whether she would become a Guardian or not didn't matter so much to Selena. She was having fun, collecting and answering wishes with her tiny fairies, who were so quick and agile, and so strong that they could collect a hundred wishes in one go. But if she was completely honest, Selena was lonely on her little island, fairies or no fairies.

The day she had been given the palace, the other had all promised to visit, and they did - but Jack had made no such promise, seeming awkward and stiff around her for the rest of the afternoon, and he hadn't come back since. When she asked about him, only ever to Tooth, he fairy would just shrug.

"He's a loner." She'd say. "He likes to go off on his own, and just... be by himself."

Selena resigned herself to the fact that she probably wouldn't be seeing her savior again, and tried to carry on dutifully with her work.

She travelled the world for wishes, as she knew she had to, though she often went to England to see how her family where doing. But it wasn't in England where things changed - it was a bit further afield, in America.

"Burgess, Virginia." Selena smiled, a few of her fairies buzzing around her. "Looks like a nice place... Have we been here before?"

A few little fairies shook their silvery heads, sending glitter flying around the place. Selena smiled, and looked around. The shift in her mood was obvious as she took a step forward, pointing about the place and giving orders.

"Birthday party two streets away; there's a girl with a lady bird to the right, 2 miles; kids in a field full of dandelions, 1 mile North; and it's 11:11 in two minutes, so I want you spread out and ready to go." Selena nodded, sending her fairies off in many different directions till only 3 or 4 hovered around her.

"We're going to go this way, girls." She said, looking up the small street they'd landed on. "We'll go up through each house to the end of the street, can you handle that?"

The fairies nodded, holding up their jars. They only ever took one each, and filled it with many different wishes for Selena to sort when they returned home to the Wish Palace. Selena looked at the sun; she had learned to tell the time just from it's position in the sky. A minute till 11:11. She poised herself ready to run.

And then she stopped and doubled over, with a few shrieks from the surrounding fairies. Her eyes glowed silver, and her breathing felt restricted. It had been so long since the Man in the Moon had wanted to speak to her, that her fairies had no idea what was wrong. They were about to call the others back when she stood upright, her eyes returning to normal.

"Be on your guard." She instructed the girls. "There's danger around."

The little fairies frowned at one another, but nodded surely at their mistress. Selena looked up at the sun, sure she'd missed the 11:11 by now, but she still had a few seconds till it begun.

"Go!" She instructed, sprinting off into one of the houses and opening the jar as she went. She zipped from house to house, collecting each wish quickly and quietly. There weren't any believers in Burgess just yet, so she had no problem running from room to room, house to house, until-

She skidded to a stop in a small girl's bedroom. She was sat at her desk drawing, when she had looked up at the clock, wishing with all her might that her her wobbly tooth would fall out soon. Selena was about to herd it into the jar, when she heard a dark, low voice from behind her say, "Best not bother, Celestia."

She spun round to see the dark figure stood in the corner of the room - she couldn't tell who it was, couldn't even see it's face, but she knew it wasn't human. It was a spirit or something, like her, but it was dark, and it was evil. She only knew of one evil spirit.

"Pitch?" She asked, her voice trembling despite her attempts to not show any fear.

The thing laughed - it was a girl. Not Pitch, then. "Oh, you wish."

She stepped out of the shadows, her face still hidden by the hood of the black, flowing cloak she wore. The ends didn't seem like fabric, tohugh - they seemed to billow out into faces, the tormented faces of people in pain. Glinting in the light from the window was a scythe, with a long, wickedly sharp blade, and a handle bigger than Selena herself. Unfolding from the back of her cape were large, feathery black wings, like raven's wings.

Selena held her chin up high, gritting her teeth to stop her lips from trembling. She was scared, and she was alone, and she wasn't sure she could fight the demon if she had to.

"This one's coming with me." She said, with a sickly sweetness to her voice.

Before Selena could even react, she touched the scythe to the girls back, and the colour seemed to drain out of her, being sucked back into the blade, and down into the handle, and then into the coal-black hand of the holder, who cackled as the girl fell limply on the desk.

Selena raised ehr hands to her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes, the jar of wishes falling to the floor.

The demon picked it up, her face still cloaked and hidden from view, and she set the jar down gently on the desk, as if the contents of it mattered at all to her. She leaned in close to Selena, though her face still was hidden, and whispered in a gutteral tone, "I am Death. And I have been dormant for too- long-"

She disappeared into a puff of black smoke, and Selena watched with horrified eyes as the girls mother came up into the room, opening the door with a pleasant smile to see how her little girl was doing. The pleasant smile turned to a look of horror as she rushed forward, pulling the girl into her arms-

Selena couldn't watch anymore. She grabbed the jar of wishes and flung herself out of the window, trying to fly but finding she was still paralysed with fear. "Girls!" She called out for her fairies, who were still spread so far out around Burgess. "Girls!"

The fairies gathered around quickly, each of them shrieking and crying out at the sight of the mistress, who seemed helpless and frail, her white dress draped around her as she propped herself up off the ground.

Selena staggered to her feet, stumbling slightly before regaining her balance.

"We're going to the North pole." She said. "I have to see them, we have to go!"

One of the fairies chirped a question at her - "why?"

"Because." Selena said, panting slightly from the exertion of standing and the sight she had just seen. "The children are in trouble."


	13. Chapter 13

The flight to the North pole was a worrying one for the fairies; they had never seen the determined gleam in their mistress's eyes before, and she seemed exhausted, as if Death had took some of her own strength when she had robbed the little girl of hers. She kept dropping and dipping, and occasionally crying out in pain, though she tried to grit her teeth and bear it.

She could of went round to the entrance of the North Pole, but she decided against it; she had to get to the main balcony, fast. She hoped that it wouldn't be just North at the Pole. She hoped Jack was there, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, barely even to herself.

She flew in through the gap in the roof for the moon, plummeting down head-first onto the back of a yeti when her strength left her yet again. The Main in the Moon said something to her that only her fairies noticed as they buzzed around her, and the yeti in question groaned, rubbing his back.

"It's just an after effect of her, I'm fine!" Selena shooed her girls away and got to her feet, trying not to stumble.

"Selena!" North cried, holding out his arms for a hug, and wide smile on his face, but it soon faded when he saw the state she was in. "What's wrong?"

"Where are the Guardians?" She asked urgently.

"Jack is in his room, and Tooth has just left from her monthly visit, and Bunny has begun preparations for Easter time, and Sandy is in America." North said, frowning. "Why?"

"Get Jack down here." Selena ordered. "Can you send out the Borealis? I need everyone here - it's important!"

North was big enough and wise enough not to take orders from the young spirit, but he pursed his lips determinedly and strode up the stairs two at a time, pulling down the lever that released the Northern lights into the sky.

"You look tired." North said then, turnign to face her and, despite the size of his muscles, took her arm gently, leading her up the stairs. "Come and sit by the fire. Are you well?"

Selena nodded. "It's to do with... with what I have to tell you. Don't worry about it."

She couldn't help but notice, as he sat her down in her chair by the fire, that he hadn't sent anyone to go and get Jack. The few fairies that had followed her to the pole (she had instructed some to go home, and sort the wishes, and make sure the palace was safe) hovered around her, twittering nervously to one another.

"Go and get Jack, please." She said to them.

They nodded, about to fly off towards his room with North shook his head. "Don't bother." He told them.

The fairies stopped and frowned, looking at each other and then at their mistress. She held up her hand to subdue them for a moment, and then looked up at North. "Why not? What's wrong?" He asked.

North sighed. "The boy is miserable." He shook his head again, his beard shimmering in the firelight as he fell into the seat beside her. "He's been staying with me for a while, but his behaviour..."

"The blizzards." Selena murmured quietly, looking at the globe in front of her.

For the duration of January, the entire world, seemingly, had been on a Blizzard Warning. Some places got up to ten feet of snow, roads were turned to ice-rinks, airports were grounded and people got hurt. Selena had been horrified. She wondered what could of happened for Jack to do all that.

"The blizzards." North sighed morosely. "He'll shut himself in his room for days, freeze the locks so we can't get in, and then disappear and cause another blizzard." He shook his head. "I don't know what's wrong, but he won't let me talk to him."

"Do you- do you want me to try?" Selena asked, her eyebrows knitting together in worry for her friend.

North sighed again. "You can try, but you won't succeed."

Selena gave a faint smile, pulling herself to her feet. "I usually get my own way, Nicholas." She smiled.

North looked up, shocked that the girl had used his name, his real name. No one called him Nicholas anymore.

"Stay here." Selena pointed a glittery finger at her fairies, who were eager to see their favourite spirit. They sat down in the chair all four of the fitting onto the bright red cushion, looking miserable as well as rebuked.

It had been a while since Selena had walked down the halls of the North Pole, but she managed to make her way to Jack's room without any trouble. When she got there she could see that the locks were frozen over. It would be impossible to get in just by pushing the doors.

"Melt it." The Man in the Moon said, her eyes glowing silver, though this time she didn't double over or cough. She stayed standing, and then looked at the ceiling, the best place she could think of to whisper back to him.

"How!?" She hissed, hoping Jack hadn't heard.

She got no answer, so she sighed, and did the first thing that came to mind. She placed her hand against the ice, and saw her hand turn an more brilliant shade of silver, the glitter under her skin turning more prominent, as if it were multiplying. She took her hand away as the ice dribbled down the door, turning to water and forming a pool at the bottom, carrying the silver dust with it. It was still coming from her hand when she pulled it away, and her eyes widened. She blew it away, a dust cloud forming and hitting the doors, which blew back ever so slightly, though they didn't open completely.

"Hm." She murmured, looking at her hand, which was back to it's usual tone, before gently pushing the door open.

Jack was sat with his back to her, at the window of the room. Frost covered most of the glass except for the middle panes in front of his face, and she wished she could see what expression she wore. From behind, she had no idea how he was feeling. She wasn't even sure that he knew that the door was open. If he was he made no effort to turn and see who it was.

He was hunched over in the window seat, his staff lying on the floor beneath him. Selena ghosted toward him, unconsciously stretching her hand out and placing it lightly on his back.

He flinched, and then spun round, flying off the window-seat and onto the floor, grabbing his staff and pointing it at her all in a second. Selena stumbled back a few steps, holding her hands up in a sign of peace, worry etched on her face. Not worry for herself, no - worry for him.

He looked thinner from the front, his cheekbones and jawbone more prominant, and his eyes seemed less bright than they used to be. Selena, without even thinking about it, stretched a hand out toward him again, slowly closing the distance she had just put between them.

"Jack?" She murmured, her voice breaking as she got closer to him.

He stepped away, lowering the staff as if he was angry with her. "Selena." he said curtly.

Selena was still moving towards him, not even aware of it herself. She wasn't sure that what she was seeing was real. Her fingers were just inches from his face when she asked, "What happened to you?"

"Nothing." He snapped.

Selena shook her head. "It's not nothing." She said.

He had a cut on her left cheek, right on the bone; it was small, but obviously deep and bright crimson on his pale, milky skin. Jack stood still facing away from her slightly, but she still reached out to touch his cheek. But as she did, the same silvery dust has before welled out of her hand and onto his skin, and as she watched, his face filled out again, the cut turned darker and smaller, until it disappeared all together, and his eyes shone.

She retracted her hand, looking at him with her mouth hanging open in shock and awe.

"I didn't - I don't-" She stammered, but she was cut off by the sound of North yelling, "Selena!"

She pursed her lips. _"Damn that man!"_ She thought, as she balled her hands into fists. "We have to go." She told Jack.

"I'm not going anywhere." He muttered, turning away from her so that he had his back to her.

But Selena wasn't accepting no for an answer.

She grabbed his free hand gently, and when he turned, she looked at him with imploring eyes. "Please, Jack." She said quietly. "I need you."

He paused for a moment, his eyes hard as he glared at her. And then they softened, and he took hold of her hand as gently as she held his.

"Okay." He nodded. "For you."

"Thank you." Selena smiled softly, standing on tip-toe to kiss his cheek, sending him into a blush, before pulling him off down the corridor to the main balcony.


	14. Chapter 14

The Guardian's eyes widened at the sight of a healthy, although miserable, Jack being tugged into the group by Selena. Sandy was the first to properly react - he clapped his hands happily, beaming at the two of them. He gave a separate, almost knowing nod to Selena, who dropped Jack's hand and blushed a scarlet red.

North was the next to react. His eyes widened as he exhaled, and folded his arms across his chest. "So Selena," He said, cutting into the deafening silence. "What is big problem?"

Selena's fairies flew to greet her, buzzing around her happily. Jack watched with curious fascination as one of them sat daintily on her shoulder. "Go on," One of them said in a bell-chime voice.

Taking a deep breath, the moon spirit nodded and began, "The children are in danger-"

"Danger from what?" Bunny asked darkly, leaning froward with a frown.

"You'd find out if you let her finish." Jack snapped. Bunny swayed back against the wall and crossed his arms; usually of course, he would of retaliated, but he could see that this time, Jack wasn't joking.

Selena turned slightly to lay a hand gently on Jack's arm, who stood a foot or so behind him. He looked up at her through his dark lashes, and she tried to smile reassuringly at him. Looking back at the other Guardians, she continued, "I was wish- collecting in America. I was only half-way through when I got to a little girl's house. I was about to grab her wish when she- when she-"

Her fairies looked sadly at her as she tried to finish her sentence. The words were lodged in her throat. "She died." She choked out. "I saw the life...pulled from her." She looked up at the Guardians, still struggling to get the words past her teeth. She felt Jack take hold of her hand, giving her the strength to finish. "She said her name was Death." Selena looked at each Guardian in front of her; all of them had fell completely still and silent. "And that she had been dormant for too long."

"Four hundred years." North murmured.

"That was a bad one." Bunny muttered.

"We nearly lost you." Tooth nodded, looking at Bunny, who shuffled uncomfortably.

Silence fell between the Guardians; North, Tooth, Sandy and Bunny were obviously all reliving something in their heads, Jack glared at the marble floor and Selena chewed her lip.

"Do you know where she'll be?" North asked.

"She was in America. That's all I know." Selena shook her head.

"Burgess." Bunny remembered. Jack's head snapped up.

"Last place we saw Pitch." Tooth murmured.

Selena wasn't sure what had happened with Pitch - a while ago, Jack had tried to explain to her, but he had kept getting distracted, couldn't get to the heart of the story, and the other Guardians refused to talk about it, as if saying his name would bring him back. All she knew was that he had tried and failed to destroy the world, and was now in his own personal form of hell. She was glad she'd missed it, though she knew she couldn't skip this battle.

"Do you think she'll try what Pitch did?" Selena asked.

North sighed. "Maybe."

"I doubt it." Jack said. Everyone turned thei gaze to him, and he looked up through his lashes. "Death knows what he did. She knows that that won't stop us. She knows we can defeat that. She's going to try something new."

Sandy frowned, a golden question mark appearing over his head.

Jack clutched his staff, shifting it around in his hand. "We've got to find out"

* * *

_AN: Okay so my info on the origins of each Guardian is sketchy, but I figure each one would of been alive and immortal at least 400 years ago. I mean, I know Tooth is at least 440 years old, and North was a Cossack, so he has to be at least 400 too... anyway, if I've got anything wrong do feel free to correct me, and I'm sorry this was so bad - writer's block!_


	15. Chapter 15

The Reindeer were cranky about being woken up so soon after Christmas. "They normally lounge about until mid June." North laughed, patting each one on the neck and muttering things in Russian before clambering into the sleigh.

"I think I'd rather just fly." Selena said. He fairies nodded anxiously.

Jack was hanging around behind her, still obviously not happy about hanging around the other guardians, maybe even Selena, she noticed, as he wouldn't look at her, but there was a new light in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. The other Guardians had seen it before, of course - it was the fight, the defensiveness that he felt over the children. Whether Jack was happy with the other Guardians or not didn't matter; the fire in his eyes and his heart was burning and he was going to find this "Death" and stop her before anyone got hurt.

North, however, chuckled. "Get in." He said merrily, and with a sigh, Selena did as she was instructed.

Jack climbed in last, sitting by himself at the back, one step up from Selena and Sandy.

As the sleigh twisted and turned around the ice tunnel that served as it's runway, Selena hand's clamped down on the wooden seats, her silvery nails leaving scratches in the paintwork. Sandy sat quite happily, patting Selena's hand with a merry smile in an attempt to calm her, but she still hated the sleigh ride. Her fairies too seemed shocked as they were thrown backwards against the bench were Jack sat, all of them holding onto each other and squealing in jingling voices. Jack couldn't help but smirk, and though he tried to resist, he pulled the little fairies into the pocket on his hoody to stop them blowing away.

They tinkled happily, and, overhearing them, Selena turned round to face Jack. "They said thank you." She smirked, though he just nodded, and when she turned back round she felt Sandy nudge her, giving her a tiny wink before throwing his arms up in the air and enjoying the rest of the ride.

The ride to Burgess was a bumpy one. The reindeer were lazy and weren't flying as well as they could of, Bunny kept fidgeting and Tooth couldn't decide if she wanted to be in the sleigh or out of it, resulting in lots of dipping and diving and thudding around, until eventually they landed on a frozen pond in Burgess.

Jack was the first one to get out. He shifted the staff around in his hand as the fairies fluttered out of his pocket, flying around Selena's face and chattering excitedly all the while, swooning in turns while their mistress laughed at them. "Shh, shh, come on, be quiet, we have work to do." She said to them, playfully swatting them away and turned around to look at the Guardians.

"It was a few streets from here. We could go to her house. See if there's any trace of her, or if she left anything behind."  
Selena suggested.

"Good idea!" North boomed, tying up the reins and walking across the pond to the shore, Bunny, Sandy and Tooth following behind him without any questions.

Selena began to follow, when she turned to look at Jack, who had his back to her as he looked at th frozen lake. "Are you coming, Jack." She asked, not making any move towards him.

He didn't reply for a moment, and then he turned around and nodded. "Yeah." He said, walking to her side, and taking a moment and a deep breath before holding his hand out to her.

Selena smiled, taking his hand and hearing one of her fairies chirp behind her. She looked away, a silvery blush rising to her cheeks at the smile he gave her, and pulled him across the pond after the Guardians.

* * *

The street was still and silent. The children had been brought indoors, the houses shut up and the curtains drawn, only twitching every now and again when an adult went to the window, looking at the white-painted house with pursed lips and sad eyes, their arms crossed and a sigh on their lips, before shaking their head and closing the curtains again.

It had only been an hour or so since the little girl had died, and the entire street seemed to be feeling the effect. The Guardians and Selena stood in a row on the pavement, looking at the empty house forlornly. Tears welled in Toothiana's eyes, Bunny's ears drooped, and Selena clutched Jack's hand tight, her fairies settling quietly on her shoulders.

"Which room was it?" Jack asked, the first to break the solemn silence.

"That one." Selena pointed with her free hand to the room on the top right.

"Let's go take a look." Bunny said with a sigh.

It was a while before anyone actually moved, but when they did, it was Selena. She didn't fly up to the room, but rather let go of Jack's hand and walked to the white-painted wooden walls, pulling herself up on the windowsill of the bottom window and climbing from there on, her dress snagging on splinters every so often. SHe pulled herself up onto the window ledge, and pushed the glass open before swining legs inside.

"Well?" She called down to the others, who had watched her motionlessly the entire time. "Are you coming up, or what?"

They nodded, Jack being the next to come up, using the wind to lift him into the air while Selena dipped inside, opening the window further should they need it. The room was just how she remembered it, except the pink chair that the girl had been sat on was now tipped over on the floor, and the basket of washing was strewn all over.

"Where was she?" Jack asked.

"That corner." Selena pointed to the spot where Death had been stood, her hood hiding her features, while Selena had stood in horror by the desk.

While Bunny and North went to investigate that corner, Tooth hovered over the desk, looking at some of the drawings the little girl had done. She smiled every so often, sniffling and wiping her eyes. Sandy went to the head of the little girl's bed, his hand on her pillow has he inspected that corner of the room. Selena stood with her hands clasped together, her mind racing through everything she had seen not so long ago.

"Are you all right?" Jack asked, standing in front of her, closer than he probably should have been, frowning down at her with concern.

"Fine." She murmured, rubbing her arm and looking around the room.

Jack paused before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in and holding her close to him. Selena set her head down on his shoulder, closing her eyes and willing the tears to go away. She wouldn't cry. She would be strong.

Their hug was broken by the sound of a maraca. Selena frowned, opening her eyes as Jack turned away from her, keeping one arm around her waist. Sandy, from his corner of the room, set the pink maraca down on the bed and held up a pile of black powder in his hand, a golden exclamation point glittering above his head.

"What is it, Sandy?" Tooth asked, fluttering over to him and peering at the dust.

He shrugged. Selena stepped forward, her fairies dispersing as she leaned down and took some of it, sprinkling it into the palm of her other hand and frowning.

"It looks like... like ash." Selena frowned. "Just dust."

"Not like Pitch." Toothiana commented, looking to the others.

"Doesn't mean he didn't have anything to do with it." Jack said.

The room fell silent as Selena looked around. "Can we not - could we not - speak to him?"

"No." Bunny said quickly, and Sandy shook his head furiously, sprinkling gold glitter everywhere.

Selena didn't ask why. She knew they didn't like to talk about it. The room fell silent until Bunny suggested, "Why don't we split up? Cover more ground, you know."

"Good idea." Tooth nodded.

North nodded. "Sandy, you and I will go North. Bunny and Tooth, you go South, and Jack and Selena, take the west."

"I'll send the fairies if we find anything." Selena said, going to the window and pulling Jack with her by the hand. "Good luck."

The Guardians nodded, and Selena dropped out of the window, pulling Jack down not-so gracefully beside her. "Let's go this way." She said, a few of her fairies fluttering around behind her. "West."

Jack nodded. "I know this place." He said.

"Then you lead the way." Selena smiled.

He nodded, pulling her off down the street, back the way they had came. Walking slightly behind him, Selena hid her face as her eyes glowed a bright silver, and her breath caught in her throat.

_Find Pitch_. The Moon said._ You need to talk to him._


	16. Chapter 16

Together, Selena and Jack went west, back to the pond where they had came from. The reindeer now lay happily, mewling and nibbling at each other, or sleeping in the case of a few. With hands clasped together they walked across the ice. Selena clutched Jack's arm, as he was seemingly fine padding bare-foot across the ice.

"Stupid Snow King." She muttered under her breath, as she slipped and skidded and clung to him for dear life. Jack smirked in amusement, striding confidently across the lake.

"See anything?" He asked, stopping at the other side of the shore.

Selena shook her head. "Nothing." She replied. "_Where is he_?" She thought, looking up at the Moon, which was just visible in the bright winter sunlight, and frowning.

"_Look down_." Came the reply, and Selena simply shut her eyes so that Jack couldn't see.

She looked down when she could be sure that the silvery glow had left her eyes, and stepped back slightly, pulling her dress behind her. There, on the ground, was a small cross of glittery black dust, almost like a scorch mark. Selena dropped to her knees, letting go of Jack's hand, peering at the dust with her face a few inches from the ground.

"Found something?" Jack asked, spinning round and crouching down beside her.

"I think so." She murmured, wiping some of the dust up with her fingers.

Jack gulped audibly beside her. "That's not Death." He said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Pitch." Jack answered, looking at her gravely.

"Maybe..." She began, the words sticking in her throat. "Maybe we should speak to him."

"No." Jack replied sternly.

"But what if she talked to him? What if he's helping her somehow? We need to know Jack." She said. She looked up at him, following him with wide silver eyes as she stood up and crossed his arms resolutely.

"No, Selena." He said surely. "It's too dangerous. Pitch is a liar, a cheater and a villain. He won't tell you the truth, I can promise you that."

"Maybe he will." She frowned. "You don't know, Jack."

"No,_ you_ don't know." He snapped. His was angry now, and Selena pursed her lips. "You've never experienced him before. You don't know what he's like."

"Fine." Selena replied haughtily, looking away from Jack at the cross on the ground. "Then don't come with me.

She pressed her hands to the ground, silver dust welling up under her skin and pouring onto the ground, opening up a small chasm, just big enough for her to slip into.

"Selena, don't you even-" Jack started, but she had already swung her legs into the hole, and pulled herself through.

"Dammit!" Jack groaned, looking away at the horizon for a moment as he deliberated what to do. And then he took a step towards the hole, crouched down, and jumped inside.

* * *

"Selena!" He hissed through the dark. "Selena!"

"I'm here." She replied in a whisper, her skin glowing faintly in the darkness as she appeared beside him. She slipped her hands into his, not wanting to show how scared she was but still wanting to be comforted by his presence.

It was dark in the tunnel, as black as the darkest night, and together they stumbled forward, towards Pitch's lair. Jack remembered the last time he was there well, but he didn't mention it to Selena; nor did he mention that he could feel her hand trembling in his.

Eventually the reached a large, old door, that was covered in cobwebs and so grand, but so obviously underused. The pair looked at each other, and Selena nudged Jack gently.

"You do it." She murmured. "Please?"

He nodded, and took his hand from hers, though she clung to it, and wrenched open the door.

"Stay here." Selena murmured to the fairies, who had bravely followed her in. They protested at first, but seeing the worried look in their mistress's eyes, their squeals were hushed and they huddled together, shaking glitter everywhere as they nodded.

With one hand on the door, Jack stretched his other hand back to the moon spirit, who took it quickly and gratefully.

"Feeling brave?" He asked.

She paused before nodding, her face etched with worry. Jack tried to crack a smile for her, but it came out wrong, and he quickly turned away.

"Let's go." He said, pulling her through the threshold and into Pitch's lair.


	17. Chapter 17

_AN: I'm so sorry this is so late guys! I can't make excuses, honestly, but here it is! I hope it was worth the wait..._

* * *

It was different to the last time Jack had seen it. Back then, it had been adorned with cages, full of chirping, twittering fairies, but the rest of the place had been pretty dismal. It was even worse now. The walls were crumbling in on themselves, the globe in the corner was slumped over on one side and only a few cages hung from the ceiling, almost about to fall on the ground.

"Where is he?" Selena murmured, her voice trembling.

"I don't know." Jack frowned, looking around and trying not to show his own fear.

No, it wasn't fear, he knew that. It was worry. Anticipation. He had no idea how strong Pitch was anymore, and he didn't like it.

Selena was starting to regret her decision. "_Damn you_!" She thought back up to the Moon, though he wasn't even sure he could hear her.

"Pitch!" Jack yelled, his hand firmly cemented in Selena's. "Show yourself!"

His voice echoed off the crumbling walls, and Selena was sure she heard a snarl from the chasm deep below them. She took a step towards Jack, turning her body into his and trying to rid her face from the blatant worry and fear that lay on it.

There was silence for a few moments and then, from the chasm in front of them, there appeared a hand, clinging to the edge of the black, shimmering rock. It was coated in the Nightmare Dust, Jack noted, and he wondered if it had finished with Pitch yet or not.

"Jack." Selena whispered, her voice almost inaudible as she saw the arm appear over the edge, coated in the same black dust, clinging to the rock just like the hand. Jack pulled her a few steps back as the arms pulled them-self up onto the rock, and Pitch's face appeared, haggard and torn.

Selena's jaw dropped at the sight in front of her, and she stumbled a few steps back, causing Jack to wrap his arm around her waist and watch Pitch drag himself out of the pit with wide, blue eyes. He looked half-dead, as if whatever was happening down there was absolute torture, and he could see the power now gone from his cold, dead eyes.

"Jack Frost." Pitch chuckled, pulling himself slowly to his feet. His bones cracked as he stood, and he stooped as he stepped towards them. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"We have a purpose." Jack replied haughtily, causing Pitch's eyes to flick from him to Selena.

"Ah, yes." Pitch mused, his voice barely a whisper. "The Moon Spirit. She told me about you. Not a guardian, though. Not yet. What is it - has he told you? Is Death just not a big enough threat, or are you simply not powerful enough?"

Jack felt Selena bristle beside him, taking a silent step forward but not leaving his grasp, her upper lip curling.

"We came here to ask you about Death, Pitch." Jack said, ignoring whatever comment he was about to spout at him. "Have you talked to her?"

"Of course I have." Pitch smiled wickedly. "She wanted to know about the guardians. I told her every...little... thing..."

His smiled was so wicked that now it was Jack's turn to step forward, his eyes narrowing and pointing his staff at Pitch, who stumbled back a few steps, falling to the ground. He seemed so feeble, Selena noted. Something terrible must have happened.

"Jack." Selena said, almost in a whisper, pulling him back to her side.

Pitch's dim eyes flicked from one spirit to the other, and then he grinned again. "Ah I see. So your purpose was protecting the girl. Or where you protecting him?" Pitch asked, his eyes flicking to Selena.

"We're protecting the children." She replied, venom in her voice.

"Yes, yes, the children." Pitch rolled his eyes. "I told her you would-"

"_What did you yell her_?" Selena yelled, her voice echoing around the cave, bouncing off the walls and causing dust to crumble into the chasm, the sound of it skittering against the rocks breaking the deafening silence that had fell.

Pitch seemed startled, but he quickly regained his cool, standing up and brushing himself off. "I already told you," He said, stepping slowly backwards from the couple. "I told her everything. Every detail, every trait," He grinned wickedly. "Every weakness."

He was almost at the edge of the chasm now, as he said, "I do wish you good look at defeating her because what she has planned is..." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Simply remarkable." He finished. "Good bye, Jack." He said, his voice a near whisper. "Good bye, Selena."

And before she could demand any more of him, he threw himself over the edge of the pit, into the blackness below.


	18. Chapter 18

_AN: Bit of a bad chapter, because my brain was completely empty, and I was watching Brave (which you might be seeing in a new fic with Jack after this;)) so it might have a few continuity errors. Anyway, I hope it's okay!_

Selena was the first to make a move. She started to walk towards the edge of the pit, to peer over into the depths of the black chasm to see where Pitch had gone, but Jack was already pulling her back, his cold hand clamped around hers as he led her out of the lair.

"We have to go." He said, pulling her along the glitter-laden stones to the large, cob-web covered door. He cranked it open and shoved her a little forcefully through the door, as she tried once again, with glazed eyes to try and go back to the edge of the chasm and peak inside.

The fairies chirped at their presence, have been huddled together in a large cluster, a pile of silver dust forming beneath them as they floated in mid-air. They scurried forward, fluttering anxiously around her and squeaking in high-pitched tones.

"Yes, I- I'm fine." Selena answered, her silver eyes still trained on the door that was now being sealed shut by Jack.

"We've got to go and tell the others." He said, torming ahead of her through the tunnel, the grip on her hand all but forgotten as he followed the tunnel up to the surface.

Selena's eyes were still on the entrance until she realised Jack's cold but comforting hand wasn't in hers anymore, and then she spun round, silver hair flying as she cried, "Jack!"

Her fairies watched him with as much confusion as she did, and followed quickly when Selena hitched up her skirt and ran after him, trying to close the distance between them.

Jack, with his new-found mission to inform the guardians of what he had just heard carried on regardless - he had no worry that she would catch up. Anger and irritation fueled him, and propelled him through the tunnel faster than when he had entered it. Upon reaching the opening they had fell through, he now threw his staff up onto the ground outside, and then pulled himself up, lithely manouvering through the tunnel and out onto the grassy land outside.

"Jack!" Selena called again, reaching the opening to the cave and standing in the halo of light it produced inside the tunnel.

She thought he must of left her, and her anger flared, until he looked over the edge of the hole and said, "Yes?"

She held her arms up like a child wanting it's mother's attention, and if Jack hadn't been so angry he may have even reached his pale hands down into the tunnel, and with a small smile Selena allowed him to pull her up onto the ground outside, her fairies following and seeming a lot more comfortable now they were above ground.

"Thank you." She said with a pointed smile, counting her fairies before standing up and starting after Jack, who was already on his feet.

This time, however, he grabbed her hand before moving. "Okay?" He asked, still not smiling, but gentler than before.

"Okay." She nodded. "Let's go find them." She said, allowing him to pull her across the frozen lake to the Guardians.

* * *

"So he- he actually helped her?" Tooth asked, her wide purple eyes flicking from Selena to Jack.

Selena nodded. "He told her everything about you."

"Every weakness, he said." Jack frowned.

Bunny sighed, and Sandy looked worriedly at North, who was stroking his bear pensively.

"We must find her." North said. "Before she finds us."

"We can't split up this time." Bunny said with a certain nod. "We'll have to face her all together."

Sandy agreed with a nod, and Tooth said, "We should take to the skies, see if she's up there."

Selena had held back from getting into the arguments, making her own plans as she stood in the corner in silence. She could hear them agreeing to strategies and ideas jut a foot away from her, but suddenly her mind was on other things-

She felt a cold tingle down her spine, starting at her neck and running down her back like ice water, till it disappeared all together, and she shivered. She felt eyes on her back, but when she looked there was nothing but black dust hanging in the air.

"Guys." She said, her voice almost a whisper. No one stopped to look at her, so she repeated in a high-pitched squeak, "Guys!"

Jack was the first to turn round, his blue eyes widening as he watched the shadow dart from behind her, and into the other corner, blending into the shadows of the little girl's bedroom. Her face wasn't visible, but the black robe that fell to the floor and the large, wickedly sharp blade protruding from behind her back was enough to tell them who she was.

"Death." Bunny said, his nose screwed up as he looked at her.

"Guardians." She said cooly, a smile in her voice. The hood turned in Selena's direction, and with the same cool voice, she said, "Celestia."

It was the first time anyone had called Selena by her official title, and it caused another shiver down her spine. She suddenly wished she wasn't so far away from the Guardians, the foot or so between them now seeming like a mile.

"There's no need to take to the skies, or stick to the ground, or whatever you were planning to do." The smile was still thick in her voice, but it was sickly sweet, and Selena knew, without seeing it, that it was fake. "I'm right here. And I'm telling you, no, _begging _you to follow me."

She was across the room in a second, leaving black dust hanging in the air and a ringing sound in Selena's ears. She was out of the window before they could so much as move, and in the dimming daylight, she was just visisble, a black streak in the sky heading to who-knew-where.


	19. Chapter 19

_AN: So for returning readers, you should know that I hated that last chapter so much that I changed the ending. So maybe you should go back and read that before reading this. Anyway, I'm writing this before I've wrote this chapter, and already I'm sorry. Writers block yet again._

The Guardians moved before Selena had so much as blinked. Tooth was the first out of the window, followed by Jack and Bunny, and then North and Sandy, leaving Selena to run to the window when they had left, her silver eyes watching them with confusion.

Her fairies wittered in confusion at her side too, and Selena looked at them with knitted eyebrows, shaking there head. "I don't know," She said, answering there question of "_How were they so fast_!?". "But we really need to catch up."

She flung herself out of the window, trying with all her might to catch up to the Guardians and their target. It was dark by the time she reached them, and it seemed some sort of battle had already ensued in the short time she'd taken to catch up. Everyone looked frustrated, and more confused than ever.

"What have I missed?" Selena asked, landing silently and walking a few steps towards the Guardians.

"She's lethal with that thing." Tooth murmured, and Selena knew she meant the scythe. The fairy rubbed her arm, and Selena's eyes filled with worry.

"Did she hit you?" She asked, remembering what the weapon had done to that poor girl.

"She wouldn't be here if she had." Bunny said, looking up at the fairy who hovered just above her head, and then down at Selena.

"So she hasn't done anything?" Selena asked, cataloging each Guardian to check for injuries.

"Not yet." Came the sickly sweet voice from some way above them.

The black blur dropped from above, from the roof of the building they were underneath. The scythe seemed to glow in the moonlight, just as Selena did, and it looked sharper than ever as she advanced towards the Guardians.

"Now who do I take down first?" She said, advancing slowly. "It's all a game of tactics, isn't it? I could take out the most powerful first, and get them out of the way, or I could always take out the weak. Leave the best till last, as they say."

She obviously wasn't finished her little speech when a boomerang flew seemingly from nowhere, splintering the wood of the scythe but not so much that broke, as Bunny had been hoping.

"Fool." She muttered. With a flick of her bony hand, the warrior rabbit was thrown against the side of the building, his body making a dull thud as it collided with the brickwork.

"Bunny!" Tooth cried, as all of the Guardians heads turned to watch. She flitted back to him, and a smooth, sinister laugh came from their attacker.

"Two down," She said, tilting the blade downward. "Three to go."

Sandy tried next, hurling golden dust at her, trying to push back her hood and drown her in it, or coat the silver scythe and render it useless, and for a moment, it seemed to work. The glitter surrounded her, making her almost invisible in the tornado of gold, until it was thrust outward, black dust following in the aftershock and piling on top of Sandy.

"Help him!" Jack ordered Selena, who nodded, running back a small way to sift through the dust and retrieve the Sandman, whilst North and Jack continued their fight.

Selena was sure the Guardians were immortal, but she had no idea what she would find as she sifted the elbow-deep dust, like ash but so thick it was making her tired, to Sandy's tiny form. She pulled him out, laying him on the ground and bending her head to his chest, trying to listen for a pulse. His eyes opened, and he took a shaky breath.

"You okay?" Selena asked, sitting up and looking at him with concern.

He scratched his head, combing the dust from his hair before nodding. He got up, floating in the air. He held his palm up at Selena, a sign to stay where she was, and he went to rejoin the fight. She stood wringing her hands in the shadows, her eyes following each move. They would push her back, and then she would push back, in an endless cycle that seemed almost pointless.

"What can I do?" She murmured to the few fairies who had dared to follow her, and now hovered close to her in fear. "What can I do? I don't have any special powers, I can't-"

She stopped mid sentence, as her entire world came to a standstill. The words were trapped in her throat as she watched on in horror, as the point of Death's blade hit Jack through the heart, pulling the life from him.

She was sure it would of taken him completely if North had not hacked one of his swords into her arm, distracting her from sucking the life out of Selena's best friend.

His body fell to the floor with a dull thud, and Selena was moving without even knowing it. She was sure her mouth was moving, but no sound came out as she gathered him into her arms. His form was lifeless, his face stuck in an expression of pain, and Selena had no idea what to do.


	20. Chapter 20

Time caught up with her quickly.

Sound returned to full volume, slashing, cracking and grunts from a small way away as battle raged around her, but it didn't matter to her. The only thing that mattered now was the lifeless body in her arms.

"No, please," She begged, half to Jack and half to the Moon. "Please, please, please, come on, wake up. Jack? Jack, come on, wake up. You can't die, please, Jack, wake up!"

Tears as clears as glass fell, rolling down her cheeks and dropping onto his jumper, turning to ice as they hit the frosted fabric. She wasn't sure what to do, and the tears certainly weren't helping her case. She knew that everyone was engaged in the battle, simply by the fact that no one came to her rescue. Instead she was left to sob over his lifeless form, colder than it usually was, as she racked her brains over what to do.

And then she remembered: the ice on the door of the room, the silver dust that had swelled in her palms and caused it to melt. Whether it was just a source of heat she didn't know, but as she thought about it, she saw the palms of her hands turn a deep silver, and a voice in her head whispered,

_Do it_.

Holding back the tears for a moment, she placed Jack gently on the floor, and straightened up. She held her palms out straight in front of her, fully extending her arms and taking a few deep, calming breaths. And then, closing her eyes, she pressed her palms to his chest, and hoped.

She stayed like that for a few moments, and then opened her eyes.

Nothing.

Pulling back her hands she pressed them to her mouth. Should she try again? She pressed her hands to his chest again, tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried again, wishing with all her might for him to wake up.

"Selena!" Came the cry from beside her, and with watery eyes she turned to look at the battle that was almost over. They'd nearly been defeated, she could see; Tooth lay against the back wall, Sandman lay on top of a trash can a small way away, North was on the ground and Bunny was trying desperately to hold back the skeletal soldiers that Death had summoned.

With a final look at Jack, Selena pressed a solemn kiss to his forehead, and walked slowly over to the battle. He dressed trailed the floor as she glared at the woman that had took him from her. As she passed North, Selena picked up one of his swords. It was heavy, but she held it firmly, and heard Bunny crash to the floor as one of the skeletons got the better of him.

"Celestia," Death said, a smile in her voice. "Come to join the battle at last?"

"No," Selena said coldly. "I came to end it."

Death laughed. "Forget it, my dear. The Guardians are defeated. I have won. And if you give up now, I will spare you."

"I would rather die." Selena said, with a smile that was more a grimace, as she lifted her sword.

Death stood back in the shadows as the first skeleton guard attacked, his black sword long and leathally sharp as he slashed at Selena. She returned the blow, their swords clashing and sliding off each other as each went in for the next blow. It was Selena next, who dropped her sword lower than before, slashing at the skeleton and snapping his spine in half. She slashed downwards then, knocking the bones in his rib cage to the floor, and then she stabbed at his neck, knocking the skull from his skeletal body.

Death laughed. "You think that will stop them? They're undead! They won't stop unless I halt them, and trust me, spirit, I shall do no such thing!"

The bones reassembled themselves, clicking together to form the same skeleton as before, the black sword shooting back into his hand like a magnet. The second soldier emerged from behind him, raising his sword just as the other did. From behind those two, another two soldiers rose from the ground, causing the earth to shudder and crack as the appeared from the shadows.

With wide eyes, Selena took in her opponents, the sword seemingly growing heavier in her hands. Two she could maybe have took. Four? She was dead.

She raised her sword anyways, tilting her head down as she glared at the soldiers. She was about to slash out at the first skeleton when she felt a shiver down her spine, and a breath of cold air on the back of her neck. And then a familiar voice said in her ear,

"I've got your back."


	21. Chapter 21

Selena's head whipped round, sending silvery curls flying about her face. "Jack!" She cried, her eyes lighting up like the moon itself in delight.

He gave her a lopsided smile, about to extend his arms in a hug when he saw the familiar features break out in delight. But his eyes were drawn to the dnger in front of them, and he yelled, "Solider, six o'clock!"

Selena turned just in time to see the soldier slash it's swrod at her throat. She ducked, and Jack pointed his staff at the skeleton, freezing it's joints and rendering it stiff. Selena jabbed her elebow through it's rib cage, breaking the frozen bones in half and sending it crashing to the floor, where she stomped through the frosted skull, crushing it underfoot and causing a cry of pain from Death, who still stood in the shadows.

Together, without the other Guardians for help, Jack and Selena fought off the soldiers. Death kept summoning more and more, one after the other, but it was obvious it was causing her pain, as by the time she had summoned nearly thirty or so soldiers, she was on the floor, grasping at the cold hard concrete.

Crushing the skull was the only sure way to defeat them - and to do so, or to keep them down long enough to do so, it took some work. Jack would freeze them while Selena would crush them, the two making an effective time as they turned and slashed, jabbed and crushed the skeletons to dust, back to the earth they came from.

And then, the soldiers stopped.

The two of them were panting by the time they realised that no morebe soldiers would be errupting from the ground, and having been stood back to back, they leaned against each other. Selena was the first to give out a breathless laugh, followed by Jack, till the two of them were in fits of laughter.

"Not bad, Frost." Selena laughed through her panting.

"Not bad yourself, Celestia." He returned with a breathless chuckle.

She must have thought they were distracted, because Death took this opportunity to zip across the ground, crawling along, almost dragging herself along the cold hard ground as the sun began to rise around them. But she was more visible in the sunlight, and in a movement as quick as lightning Selena stretched out a foot and clamped it down on her black, dusty robes.

"Not so fast." She said, the laughter ceasing immediately as she crouched down, turning Death over onto her back. Selena wanted to just pull back the hood and reveal the face that was still so concealed by the matt black and the dust, but she didn't, not just yet. Jack crouched down beside Selena, peering over Death with a frown and narrowed blue eyes. And then North was there, looking weary and injured, and Tooth had layed herself down on the ground, holding herself up with her hands. Sandy and Bunny still lay in their respective positions, though, and showed no signs of stirring any time soon.

The sun continued to rise over the square, and Death was getting more fidgety by the second. Selena frowned over her, and when she could feel that the moon was now completely under, the square was completly lit up with sun, she said, "Well your plan went well didn't it? We stopped you. We'll always stop you. Remember that next time."

And with that, she pulled back the hood of the robe, tearing it slightly as she pushed it onto the ground. What was now visible shocked them all; her skin, her flesh, was merely a spirit, a ghost upon the skull that was bright white in the sunlight. Her eyes, a faded shade of green grew wide, and the spirit that covered the body came off the bones, floating off into the sky as if being taken up to the place it belonged. Meanwhile the skull, not dormant in the black robes but less lively than before sank into the ground, being swallowed back up to where it came from and leaving nothing but the thin black robe and a layer of ash in the air.

"She's gone." Tooth murmured.

"Not for long, I presume." Selena countered with a sigh.

The group looked at the black hood for a little while, and then Jack asked, "What shall we do with this?"

"Burn it." North said. "We'll take it back to the Pole and burn it."

"No," Selena said, shaking her head. "I'll take it back to my palace, burn it there. The Pole is a place of happiness, and this certainly doesn't belong there." She scooped up the robes, folding it up like her mother had taught her and noting the thick dust that came off on her hands as she did.

"Very well." North agreed. "Let us get these two onto the sleigh, and get back."

With a nod, the group stood, and made the short journey back to the sleigh. North and Jack carried Bunny between them, with Tooth doing her best to help lift his middle up, and Selena carried the Sandman, like a mother would a child. His small golden face was stuck in an expression of pain, and before placing him in the sleigh, she place a maternal kiss on his forehead, leaving a silvery print behind. Hopefully it would help to heal him.

"I'll meet you back at the Workshop in a little while." Selena said, when everyone was in the sleigh. "I'll take this back first, and check on a few things."

"Of course." North nodded. "We'll be seeing you. Take care."

He was about to click the reindeer into action and skid along the ice when Jack hopped out and onto the frozen lake. "I'll come too." He said. "I like your palace."

Selena nodded with a smile, and with a motion to North the reindeer began to stir, and galloped off into the eraly morning air and towards the North.

"Ready to fly?" Jack asked, holding out his hand.

Selena screwed her face up and shook her head. "I was thinking mabe we could take the wind there?"

Jack chuckled. "Sure." He said. "Hold on tight." He grinned, as Selena curled her fingers around his hoody and the other arm around his waist, grinning slightly as he commanded the wind to take her home.


End file.
